High gas prices have forced Exxon Mobil Corp. (XOM) - the world’s largest oil company - from the retail gasoline business, the company said late Thursday afternoon.

Petroleo Brasileiro SA and the UK’s BG Group have made a second major oil find in Brazil’s Santos Basin.

The Guara exploration well struck oil in the BM-S-9 concession area – the same block as September’s Carioca discovery, which could contain as many as 33 billion barrels of oil.

“There are those who will tell you that oil is a cyclical business and a global fungible commodity,” says Christian DeHaemer in Taipan Daily.

In the energy market Thursday, crude for July delivery headed for the moon, rocketing heavenward to close at a record $138.54/barrel, up $10.75. July reformulated gasoline shot 21.8 cents higher, to $3.548/gallon, marking a two-day gain of nearly 11%.

Crude oil for July delivery traded at an all-time high of $139.12 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange today (Friday), after the U.S. dollar nosedived on speculation that the European Central Bank would raise its key lending rate and on worries that a bigger-than-expected spike in unemployment meant the U.S. economy was far weaker than feared.

We haven’t given you much of a view of how the economy here looks in Colorado. Sorry. We’ve been too busy eating massive portions of food while fending off rubber-band toting nieces and nephews. But since we’re on our way back to Melbourne tomorrow, how about a few parting observations from Colorado?

It’s not excluded that, after having carefully examined the situation, that we could decide to move our rates for a small amount at our next meeting. I didn’t say it’s certain. I said it’s possible.” — European Central Bank President Jean-Claude Trichet.

Gold had a lackluster day, reaching only as high as $885 early in the New York session on Wednesday, then getting ground slowly down straight through the Globex to finish at $878.50/oz., down $2.80. Overnight, gold has been trending lower.

The airline industry is a mess. Things are so out of whack that one airliner, American Airlines, announced last week that it was going to charge for the baggage that passengers check.

In the currency market, the dollar eked out a slight gain against the euro. Late Monday, the euro was trading at $1.5536 vs. $1.5549 on Friday.

Early this week, we introduced the idea of buying the ABCs – Australia, Brazil, and Canada – as a way to own commodities for the long term. Several DailyWealth readers wrote to ask, “Great… but what about Russia?”